Venerable Kyriakos the Anchorite in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Venerable Kyriakos lived during the reign of Theodosius the Great and was from the city of Corinth, in whose Church his father, John, was a presbyter. His mother was named Eudokia, and he was the nephew of Bishop Peter, while he himself served in the rank of Reader. When he was eighteen years old, he went to Jerusalem and became a monk under Venerable Euthymios the Great. As a monk, he demonstrated great and intense asceticism, rebuked those who held the erroneous doctrines of Origen, performed many miracles through the power of Christ, and reached an extremely advanced old age. He was gentle and sociable as a man, while by divine revelation he foretold many things that were to come to pass. He was large in stature, yet neither wild nor repulsive, but gracious in his manner, without suffering any bodily disability or illness as the years passed. For some years he also guided the Lavra of Saint Chariton.

2. Today, as we seek the intercessions of Venerable Kyriakos, we receive the grace of the intercessions of Venerable Chariton, whose feast we celebrated only yesterday. This is not merely because his feast is so close to today's, but chiefly because Venerable Kyriakos was the successor of Venerable Chariton, the one who, as the Synaxarion relates, guided the flock of the monastery founded by Elder Chariton after his repose. Thus, for those who honor it according to the manner of our Church, the grace of today's feast comes to us with double intensity. The Hymnographer emphasizes this as well:

“Standing in glory before God the Almighty, O God-proclaimer Kyriakos, together with divine Chariton, unceasingly remember those who celebrate your light-bearing memory, O Saint.”

Prologue in Sermons: September 29

 

The Saints of God Help Us in the Struggle Against the Demons

September 29

(A Word on Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

For a successful struggle against the demons and for victory over them, the Lord has given us two means: prayer to God and fasting, as He also said: “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). But is there also some other means that likewise makes the struggle against evil spirits easier, or not? Know, brethren, that there is, and it consists in fervent prayer to the saints of God for their help.

When Saint Andrew undertook the ascetic feat of folly for Christ, Satan attacked him with such force, together with the demons under his power, that Andrew thought his final hour had come. And so, finding himself in a desperate situation, he cried out: “Holy Apostle John the Theologian, help me!” After these words, thunder struck, and the voice of many people was heard. And an Elder appeared with fearsome eyes, whose face was almost as bright as the sun, and with him appeared a multitude of people dressed in white robes. And the Elder said angrily to those who were with him: “Shut the gates, so that none of the demons may escape from here.” And the Elder’s command was carried out.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 29

 

The Month of September

Day 29

30. How the Saints of God Spent the Holy Forty-Day Fast

(From the Life of Venerable Kyriakos the Hermit*)

When Great Lent arrives, those who love worldly comforts and those who indulge the flesh immediately begin to say: “Ah, this fast! I do not know how I will get through it! Lenten food is harmful to me, and I have to stand through long services and make so many prostrations.” Are the complaints of those who love worldly comforts justified? Certainly not. And even less so because, in reality, most of them observe hardly any fast at all, do not stand through the Church services, and do not make prostrations. What, then, should we say to such people for their instruction? How can we turn them away from their empty complaints? How can we encourage them to undertake the labors of the fast without complaining and with zeal? We will try to do what we can for those who love worldly comforts in the following way: first, we will show them how the holy servants of God generally spent Great Lent, and then how some of them spent it in particular.

Reading the Ascetic Discourses of Saint Isaac the Syrian as a Layperson

By Monk Damaskenos the Hagiorite

The more someone studies Abba Isaac and ascends his spiritual steps, the more one becomes aware of their spiritual poverty, that is, of their distance from the measure of the Saints, and of how far they are from the perfection of humility and love. Moreover, Abba Isaac gives them the possibility, if they desire it, of attaining this perfection, with the cooperation of Grace.

But here I must point out the following as well:

Abba Isaac reveals to the reader the full truth about how God acts in order to save man. He emphasizes that God acts like a father who loves and disciplines his son, not only to protect him from the dangers of life, but also to educate him spiritually and lead him to spiritual perfection. And he points out that although God is generally merciful, philanthropic, and compassionate toward all people, toward His own children, His chosen ones, while He provides in all things for their biological and spiritual survival, He simultaneously desires that they always follow the narrow and afflicted path, so as to secure their spiritual progress and deem them worthy of participation in His Kingdom. That is, He desires them to live continually in affliction, with only brief periods of relief and respite. This, moreover, is the spirit of the Gospel, which is completely opposed to the spirit of this world, which wants and seeks for people to live continually in comfort and to avoid difficulties and afflictions.

Synaxarion of the Holy Prophet Baruch

Synaxarion

On this same day [September 28], the commemoration of the Righteous and Prophet Baruch.

Verses

Baruch, the friend of Jeremiah the Prophet,
Joins the chorus of Christ’s Prophets in Heaven.

Baruch the Righteous and Prophet was of the tribe of Judah and flourished around 606 B.C. His father was named Neriah, and he also had a brother named Seraiah, who was a court official of King Zedekiah. His teacher was the great Prophet Jeremiah. He was so greatly loved by him that he was regarded as the breath and consolation of Jeremiah. The two of them were known together as one soul united in two distinct bodies, because they had one and the same leader and commander, the Holy Spirit.[1]

Baruch, however, proclaimed more clearly and openly the things concerning the Incarnation of the Lord, saying: “This is our God; no other shall be accounted in comparison with Him. … After this He appeared upon the earth and lived among men” (Baruch 3:35–37). One may also find other such passages by anyone who diligently reads the Old Testament, which clearly demonstrate and present that Baruch is a Prophet. Having therefore lived a life pleasing to God, he surrendered his soul to the Lord in peace.[2]

Venerable Chariton the Confessor Resource Page

St. Chariton the Confessor (Feast Day - September 28)

Verses

All earth’s delights Chariton trampled on,

Now taking delight in heaven's graces.

On the twenty-eighth Chariton died in his old age.

 

Venerable Chariton the Confessor

 

Saint Chariton the Confessor as a Model for our Lives

 

September: Day 28: Teaching 1: Saint Chariton the Confessor

 

September: Day 28: Teaching 2: Saint Chariton the Confessor 

 

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 28

 

Venerable Chariton the Confessor in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

 

The Rebirth of the First Monastery in the Holy Land - The Lavra of Saint Chariton

  

A Pilgrim Visits Saint Chariton Monastery in the Judean Desert

 

Venerable Chariton the Confessor in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. The Venerable Chariton lived during the reign of Aurelian and was from Iconium in Lycaonia. Because of his faith in Christ, he was brought before the ruler Hypatikos, and because he boldly confessed Christ as God, they beat him and burned him with fiery torches. After the fall of Aurelian, he was set free and went to a deserted place, where he fell into the hands of robbers who took him captive. He was freed once again, however, in the following manner: A viper entered the pitcher in which the robbers kept their wine and poured its venom into it, and when the robbers drank from it, they all died. Seeing that the cave was suitable as a place for his ascetic struggle, the Venerable One turned it into a church, and because many people began coming to practice asceticism near him, he eventually transformed it into a monastery. Because of the distractions, he withdrew elsewhere, but there too the same “fate” awaited him, until he found the edge of a rock where he could devote himself undisturbed to prayer and to God. He overcame the lack of water through the grace of God. He entreated the Lord, and crystal-clear water sprang forth from the rock. There, upon that rock, he lived to a very advanced old age, performing multitudes of miracles.

September: Day 28: Teaching 2: Saint Chariton the Confessor

September: Day 28: Teaching 2:
Saint Chariton the Confessor
 
(Why Is the Path to the Kingdom of Heaven Indicated by the Gospel Narrow?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the day of Venerable Chariton, now glorified in the Church’s hymns and readings, who attained the Kingdom of Heaven by the narrow path, first through suffering for Jesus Christ under the Emperor Aurelian, and then through works of love for God and his neighbors and through strict asceticism in the monasteries he founded, it is fitting, my beloved brethrens, to speak with you about why the path to the Kingdom of Heaven indicated by the Gospel must be narrow and constricted, that is, difficult and sorrowful.

II. The path to the Kingdom of Heaven is narrow:

a) Because it gives no passage to our passions and our vices.

Does the Gospel path seem too narrow to you? Do you want to widen it? How? Everyone wants to be given free rein to his favorite inclinations: one to his ambition, another to his greed, a third to his sinful attachments, a fourth to his resentment and delight in the misfortunes of others, and all together to their secret idolatry. Nothing irritates you more than the Gospel declaration that absolute self-denial is the only reasonable service of the Christian God. Let us try to widen the path, then, and let your desire be fulfilled. Let us create a moral teaching that suits your heart. You are now satisfied with it. But who can assure me that you will still be satisfied with it tomorrow? Who will tell me that your passions, increasingly exceeding all bounds and satisfied by nothing, will not demand further concessions from the Gospel? And even if you yourself manage to set a limit to them, who will assure me that others will be able to stop, as you have, and will not, in the name of breadth, proceed to destroy the remaining barriers that still stand in the way of their whims? “There is no more narrowness,” all the passions and desires will cry out together. “Give us a broad path! Away with religious prejudices, that empty scrupulousness of timid souls, and all these chains that have burdened us for so long! Pleasure for us, the present hour with all its joys for us, and for us—the cup of pleasures with which the fortunate have already quenched their thirst without us, to moisten our parched lips!” And in the terrible chaos of all these desires, without doubt, victory will belong to the wildest self-love, the most animal-like egoism. This is the final word of human broadness! Therefore, we are left to choose either the broad path of sinful passions, which leads to hell, or the narrow road of holiness, which leads into paradise.

Prologue in Sermons: September 28

It Is a Sin to Judge Our Neighbor

September 28

(From a Saying of Saint Evagrius: “Do Not Judge Your Neighbor”)
 
By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Since God is the one Judge over all, it is obvious that when we judge our neighbors, we usurp the right of the Lord; and therefore, in passing judgment on others, we thereby give cause for judgment to be passed on ourselves. “He who judges his brother,” says the Apostle James, “speaks evil of the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver and Judge, Who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:11–12). And indeed, the law commands us to love our neighbor. Therefore, he who judges his neighbor acts contrary to the law and, if not in word, then in deed judges the law, as though the law were insufficient and therefore one might depart from it. The Apostle Paul likewise teaches: “Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls” (Romans 14:4).